Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced on Wednesday that Indiana this year has received more than $136 million from tobacco product manufacturers under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).
Reached in 1998, the MSA imposes prohibitions or restrictions on tobacco advertising, marketing and promotional programs. The agreement was reached by the attorneys general of 46 states and six U.S. territories to resolve lawsuits against the four largest tobacco manufacturers seeking to recover billions of dollars in state health care costs due to smoking-related illnesses.
Hill
“The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement remains the largest civil settlement in U.S. history,” Hill said. “The result is that our residents are better protected from the disease and death caused by smoking. With Indiana remaining above the national average in percentage of smokers, we must keep working to become a healthier state.”
Since the MSA’s inception, Indiana has received nearly $2.7 billion and will continue to receive payments in perpetuity. For more information on quitting smoking, call Indiana’s Tobacco Quit line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.